D

ebbie has lived just off

Eaton Square for 15
years. She is fulsome in
her praise for the area, listing
her favourite squares, shops
and restaurants (Mosimanns
and San Lorenzo are both in
her top three eateries). Having
found fame as a model in
the 1960s and 1970s, I ask
what motivated her to start a
business in the rst place. My
marriage had broken up and I
was devastated. So I packed up
my things in Manchester and
came to London. I danced to
keep in shape, especially as I had
an underactive thyroid which
would cause me to gain weight.
Dancing became an important
part of my wellbeing. But when
the studio I attended closed, I didnt want to stop,
Debbie explains.
Im guessing that a normal person
would have found another studio or
another hobby or left it to the hairbrush-
and-mirror antics many of us are
reduced to, but Debbie chose to found
Pineapple Dance Studios. I remember
being in Covent Garden thinking
this is the centre of the creative
world with all the theatres and the
opera house its a travesty theres no
place to dance.
Making her dream a reality was
no mean feat. I have a strong work
ethic, which helps. The rst teacher I
managed to snag was the famous choreographer
Arlene Phillips. Whenever I needed to draw on a source
of strength I always thought of my daughter Lara, who has
a rare spinal disorder, Debbie recalls.
Pineapple has a very strong brand; it speaks to a wide
audience, so I try to tease out of Debbie why she thinks it has
secured such a reputation. Its the only place you can jump off
a plane at Heathrow, get the Piccadilly line and show up to a
dance class without booking be it at any level, she answers.
The studio runs 200 classes per week and offers its
space for music videos, West End auditions
and rehearsals. Its hard to see how it could
expand much further. Were now a global
fashion brand, she reminds me. We are
developing licence partners in the USA, Middle East and
China. Our TV programme, Pineapple Dance
Studios, has aired round the world and has
just hit the States. Its a very exciting time.
I hint at her past meetings with the
late Margaret Thatcher as one possible
basis for her drive and enthusiasm.
She undoubtedly gave women a huge
leap in credibility, which was a help
when I was starting the business,
but I cant pretend to like the word
feminism. Debbie thinks it often
shoots itself in the foot. The late Anita
Roddick (founder of The Body Shop) did
not agree with
the concept behind
business awards for
women, for instance, but I think
we have a lot of
catching up to do.
Has Debbie done all her
catching up? No. Retirement is
not on the agenda. I will rock
until I drop!
(pineapple.uk.com)
Tiffany Heskia talks to local resident Debbie Moore
about how she went from modelling to building her
dance empire, Pineapple Dance Studios
BE L GRAVI A RE S I DE NT S J OURNA L 018
Dancing
queen

DID YOU KNOW
Debbie Moore was made an
OBE in the 2010 New Year
Honours List for services to
business. In October 2014
she was crowned London
Lifestyle Legend.
The rst woman to take a company public: Debbie Moore
at the London Stock Exchange on 5 November 1982